Local

The clang of a hammer falling hard to a nail, the screech of a table saw quickly splitting through a piece of wood — that’s the sound of the orchestra of construction taking place at an old but familiar location in this community. Since the summer of 2012, the Driftway Bar and Restaurant has sat empty, eventually foreclosed on and left as a shadow of its former lively self.

Patrick Michael O’Connell, 26, of Belding was arraigned Thursday for allegedly robbing the Burger King near Belding. With the help of citizen tips, the Ionia County Sheriff’s Office located a 28-year-old Ionia woman who had reportedly driven the car the suspect had used to flee the scene after allegedly robbing the restaurant Wednesday afternoon.

This community’s Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) is one step closer to retuning to a board led by a citizen effort instead of the city council. In a 3-2 vote at Tuesday’s Belding City Council meeting, council members approved a prepared list of questions for each candidate of the ZBA to answer before the council makes a decision to appoint members to the board at the Feb. 3 council meeting.

Patrick Michael O’Connell, 26, of Belding was arraigned Thursday for allegedly robbing the Burger King near Belding. With the help of citizen tips, the Ionia County Sheriff’s Office located a 28-year-old Ionia woman who had reportedly driven the car the suspect had fled the scene in after allegedly robbing the restaurant Wednesday afternoon.

As another month has come and gone, contract negotiations between the Belding school district and its teachers’ union continue to remain at a standstill.

It’s been nearly seven months since the previous contract between the Belding Area Schools district and Belding Education Association (BEA) union expired on June 30, 2014, and the frustration that has grown in that time was evident again Monday evening’s school board meeting.